Electric harbour tugboats launched in Chinese shipyard

Jiangsu Zhenjiang Shipyard is building harbour tugs, emergency fireboats and oil recovery vessels for Chinese and Indonesian owners in an upturn in demand for port services.

The shipyard in Jiangsu province will be completing vessels it launched in the past three months during Q3 2026 before their sea trials and delivery.

At least two of the launched tugs and two more under construction will have battery-electric propulsion when delivered, having been built for Tianjin Port and Ningbo Port.

Zhenjiang Shipyard is building these tugs using Robert Allan Ltd’s AmpRA 3600 design and azimuth stern drive (ASD) propulsion and they will have around 3,700 kW of installed power.

Its 36-m tug for Tianjin Port will be equipped with a battery system of 7,315 kWh in a swappable module that has one-click power supply switching and fast charging.

Zhenjiang Shipyard cut steel on this electric ASD tug in September 2025 and launched it on 12 May 2026. It will have class notations: i-Ship(M) for advanced machinery systems; i-Ship(E) for energy efficiency; i-Ship(I) for integrated platform capabilities; and i-Ship(T) for intelligent towing operations.

Jiangsu Zhenjiang is also commissioning a 78-m electric-powered platform supply vessel it is producing for Unicorn Shipping after its launch at the end of May 2026.

The shipbuilder said it launched tugs in April, May and June for Chinese owners Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, Jiangsu Hengyao Shipping and Yangkou Port and for Indonesia’s Sinarmas LDA Maritime (SLM).

In Q2 2026, it also laid the keel for ASD tugboats for Fangcheng Port, Jiangyin Chenggang Shipping, Ningbo Port, Nanjing Port, Ningbo Oil Handling & Tug (Barge) Co, SLM, Weihai Shenan Marine Shipping and Yantai Port.